Standardized Testing…?

Research Question:

To what extent is increased standardized testing and standardized assessments affecting how education (particularly the curriculum) in the middle schools and high schools is being structured? (How is standardized testing altering the face of education in America?)

With New York State joining the ranks of other states who, at the start of this academic year, initiated a new schedule for the quantity and quality of standardized testing as well as an increased amount of attention being dedicated to such an issue in several of my education seminars, I could not help but wonder what such a mindset was really doing to America’s educational system.  I have always found the struggle between whether to “teach to the test” or to teach content freely without any restrictions or necessary requirements an interesting topic.  How are educators structuring their lessons if they feel limited in what they can and cannot teach?  How are lessons and topics interdisciplinary or multidimensional if standardized examinations are looming overhead?  Since I began my observations in the schools, I have been listening to the various reactions that students and educators have to increased testing, and I am curious to conduct more thorough research from outside sources and within the schools themselves.  I believe it is important for future educators to learn more about this issue, its strengths and drawbacks to education, what individuals across the board think about it, and what kind of future we are creating for education if we continue along the path we as educators are on now.

To properly collect data from within the schools, it is my intention at this time to conduct surveys that will not only ask for the honest opinions of teachers, but will consider the perspectives of students, administrators, and possibly college professors as well (and if I am ambitious, maybe even some parents if at all possible to obtain their opinions).  Depending upon the responses, I may even consider interviewing several of the people who partake in the survey (a survey that will be conducted anonymously).  I would also be interested in looking at the collective results from the earliest assessments conducted this year to see if this new method of increased testing is harming or benefiting students and their teachers.  It is fascinating to also compare this country’s stance on standardized testing compared to other nations who lead in educational practices.  In an English classroom, there is a broad range of literary material and foundational information that must be taught to students and I am curious as to how increased standardized testing may or may not be altering curriculums.

Although I am still trying to piece together the exact means by which I hope to conduct my research, I do hope that my research into this topic will help me to answer several other questions included here and some I have yet to consider.  What are we as educators hoping to accomplish from an increased regiment of testing?  What are these assessments actually measuring in our students, our teachers, and our educational curriculums?  What should they be testing?  Are these assessments worth the time and energy it takes to administer them?  What is the “teaching to the test” mentality doing to American education?  How are students, educators, and administrators reacting to an increase in standardized testing?  How is standardized testing ensuring accountability in education and those involved in the experience?  Is there perhaps an alternative method of evaluating student/teacher achievement and/or progress? (JS)